The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-15
POINTS ABOUT ALASKA.
A Great Deal of Weather, Some Fish,
Mines and Skins.

| Mr.. John j. Chickering recently said to
reporter of the Washington Star, who asked
if the weather was cold in Alaska: "Well,
now, its queer, almost every man who has
spoken to me of our summers trip has
asked that question. Very few people seem
| to know that the coast climate of south
eastern Alaska is much warmer than the
corresponding coast of the Atlantic that
! the Japan current sweeps across the Paclhc
and warns up those shores till the average
! winter temperature of Sitka Is higher than
that of Washington. But it can and does
rain in Sitka. And it's very interesting TO see
it rain; no big, black clouds; no thunder; no
| premonitory guests of wind. The SKY Is
| full of fieecy clouds and you stand talking
| with friend and remarking on the delicious
sunshine, brilliant hues of the sky and
vivid green of the mountain sides All OF
! a sudden the rain comes down IN drops as
big as marbles aid the whole landscape
turns a dull gray. One of those white,
| feecy clouds has sauntered across the face
of the sun, and for an hour or two it 'pours
! as if the lid was off the everlasting teapot
| This is summer weather. In the winter
| they say it pours all the time. Very little
snow, but lis inches OF rain the water
soaked officials at Fort TougaSs registered
the only year they kept record. Our own
rainfall here in Washington is, ! believe
about Al inches The vegetation is simply
marvellous. Such living green as clothes
| the mountains must be seen to be appre-
ciated. The growth of timber is enormous,
and while much Of it is the Oregon pine,
which doesn't rank very high as lumber,
there are enormous tracts of the yellow
cedar, which is the great shipbuilding wood
| of the Pacific coast Grain can't be raised
there with profit too much wet weather.
Some vegetable and root products thrive,
but you can write down Alaska etnphatically
as not farming county. In Victoria,
which is practically the same climate
as Southeastern Alaska, was measured
stalks of the common brake or sweet
! fern, which boys smoke in New England,
| fourteen feet high, and ordinary alder
| bushes, which | used to cut for fishing poles
| in Maine, thirty six inches in circumfer-
ence Yet many people, including goodly
| number of national legislators, say, nothing
| grows in Alaska Her main resources, be
side her woods, are fish, minerals and furs.
The fisheries seem inexhaustibe; cod, sal
mon herring and other fish peculiar to the
| Pacific coast fairly swarm in the waters.
| In the spawning season one can wade into
the mouth of a brook and literally kick the
| salmon ashore These wild northern fish,
however, won't take the fly, and it is very
aggravating to see the water fairly
alive with them and yet find
yourself absolutely unable to get a rise.
| Many peole ask if | saw much of the seal
fisheries, evidently failing to appreciate the
extent Of coast line belonging to Alaska and
not understanding that one can sail north
| along the coast from Washington Terri
| tory 100 miles and still not come within
1000 miles of the Priby.of Islands, where
all the seal fishing is DONE But southeast
| eTn Alaska has flrS in abundance and black,
| grizzly and Silver of st. Elias bears, red
and silver fox beaver mink, BLACK wolf
and squirrel skins are abundant The mines
| and stone quarrieS are at present an
unknown quantity with the exception
other places, and the finely de-
veloped TreadweIl mine at Douglass
| Island This is, | believe the biggest
| 'clIlsher' in the world-a 100 stamp mill.
The mine is owned by Mr. Treadwell, who
discovered it, Senator Jones and some San
| Francisco capitalists. No one knows what
| il is paying, but some estimate as high as
| $4,000 monthly They have worked the
sulphurets to great advantage, and Mr..
| Treadwell showed me IA greenish yellow
| dirt in one corner of the yard which he
| said was by actual assay worth S250,00
We brought down 1914, 600 worth of gold
bricks in the steamer with us. One
queer thing about those Ihlinket In
dams is that they cut off the noses of all
the bears they kill, as an Offering to the
| deity of the chase. In the whole length and
breadth of Southern Alaska you can't get
bears skin with the nose on. A little
| German tanner in Sitka showed me a room
half full of black st. Elias and grizzly
skins, and every one of them was minus the
nose This, of course, materially lessons
the value of the pelts.'
HAS Alaska much of white popula-
tionF
eyes, there are some 1000 white people
| there now, Americans and Russian half
breeds, and there will be many more when
ever it becomes possible to acquire any title
to property there Under the existing state
of things no man can acquire title to a foot
of ground or stick of timber. The only
claim that can be taken up is mining claim.
| What few laws they have are very inlper-
fectly enforced, and it has been shamefully
misgoverned country. | think that struck
| every visitor there more forcibly than any
| thing else.n
'What of the native population n
'The Idians, or Siwash, as they are all
called, are race with fine heads and splen-
did chests and arms; their legs are unde-
veloped and weak, owing to their boat life;
| their walk is almost a shamble. They are
| willing to work and the Treadwell mine is
now worked entirely with Chilkat Indians.
The scenery of Alaska is superb, surprising
anything else in the world; 5000 glaciers
between so and co. some of them big
| enough to cover the whole of Switzerland;
thousands of waterfalls, even surprising
the streams of Yosemite Valley in height;
iiords which would take III dozens of the
! Norway article: mountain peaks-but one
must visit the place 10 appreciate it. Let
| me recommend il TO you for a summering."
|
| HINTS TO PENNY